Liam’s new house in Astoria was four thousand square feet and overlooked the Columbia River. He’d had a decorator in to furnish it in a sleek, modern style, lots of geometric patterns and oxidized oak, pops of deep color here and there.

      As a rule, coming home made him feel pretty good about everything. He had a thriving business, a fat bank account and a gorgeous house. By just about any standards, he’d made a success of his life so far.

      Today, though, a big house and money in the bank didn’t feel all that satisfying. He was going to be a dad. Just like that. Out of the blue—at least, that was how it felt to him.

      Karin had kept saying that he didn’t have to do anything right now.

      Wrong.

      He needed to do something. He just didn’t really know what.

      Maybe he should call Deke Pasternak. Deke was in family law. A little legal advice couldn’t hurt about now, could it?

      The lawyer answered on the second ring. “Hey. Liam. Good to hear from you. How’ve you been?”

      “I just found out I’m going to be a father. Baby’s due in a week.”

      Usually a fast talker, Deke took several seconds to reply. “Well. Congratulations?” He said it with a definite question mark at the end.

      Two could play that game. “Thanks?”

      “So... You want to meet for a drink or something?”

      “How about a phone consultation?”

      Five slow beats of complete silence, after which Deke asked, “You okay, man?”

      “I’m working on it. Just bill me for this call and tell me what you think.”

      Deke did some throat-clearing. “What I think?”

      “Yeah.”

      “About your being a dad?”

      “That’s right.”

      “Are you asking as a friend or do you want my legal opinion?”

      “You’re billing me, aren’t you?”

      “Uh, sure. So this isn’t anyone you were dating seriously, then?”

      Liam thought of Karin again, standing there by the sliding glass door in her brother’s empty kitchen, looking miserable. “Why does that matter?”

      “Let me put it this way, how did you find out that the baby’s yours?”

      “She told me.”

      “Ah. Right there. That could be a problem.”

      “Well, she should have told me sooner, yeah. She admitted that.”

      “No, Liam. What I mean is, what she told you proves nothing.”

      “She’s seriously pregnant, man. I saw her with my own eyes.”

      “Not what I’m getting at. I’m trying to say that before you take her word for it, you need to let me arrange for DNA testing. It’s best to clear up any doubts right out of the gate. I hate to say it, but it’s a possibility that this baby isn’t even yours.”

      Liam had always been an easygoing sort of guy. He never got worked up about anything. But hearing Deke Pasternak imply that Karin Killigan had lied to him about her baby being his? That just pissed him the hell off. “You’re way off base there, Deke. She already mentioned a DNA test, as a matter fact. She’s a straight-ahead woman and she’s not trying to trap me.”

      “I’m just trying to help you.”

      “No. Uh-uh. You don’t know this woman.”

      “Well, I—”

      “She would never try to trap a man—she’s so independent, she called off our relationship before I could figure out a way to convince her that we should even have a relationship. She wasn’t even going to tell me about the baby until after the birth. I think she would have put off sharing the big news with me forever if that had been an option for her. But she’s a good woman and that wouldn’t be right. So, no. If she says the baby’s mine, it’s mine, damn it.”

      “Liam. Come on. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not disrespecting the, her, mother of your child.”

      “Yeah? Coulda fooled me.”

      “I only meant that it’s important to prove paternity once and for all. You need to get irrefutable proof and proceed from there. You do that, you know where you stand. And when you know where you stand, you can decide what to do next.”

      Why was he even talking to Deke? The guy had always irritated him. “You just don’t get it, do you, Deke? I’m going to be a father. Like in a week! I have no clue how to be someone’s dad.” True, in the past year or so, he had been thinking that it was time for him to start considering having a family of his own.

      But not in a week, for crying out loud!

      “I’m sorry, Liam. But I don’t really think it’s legal advice you’re looking for here.”

      Liam had to agree with that. “You’re right. Gotta go. Have a good one, Deke.”

      “You, too. Ping me anytime you—” Deke was still talking as Liam hung up.

      He dropped his phone on the sofa table, took off his boots and stretched out on the couch. That lasted maybe thirty seconds, at which point he realized that no way could he keep still.

      Sitting up again, he put his Timberlands back on.

      He needed to...know stuff. A lot was expected of a guy as a dad. Witness Daniel, for example. Married at nineteen with three brothers and four sisters to raise. And now he had twins from his first wife, Lillie, who’d died shortly after the twins’ birth. Twins, and a daughter with his second wife, Keely.

      The responsibilities never ended for a guy like Daniel. He worked all day and then went home to a wife, a couple of three-year-olds, a nine-month-old baby girl and their youngest sister Grace, who hadn’t moved out on her own yet. Daniel made it all look pretty effortless, mostly—or at least, he had since he and Keely got together. He was a happy man now.

      Liam could learn a lot from Daniel. He really shouldn’t have just jumped up and run out of his brother’s office like that. He had a million questions and Daniel would be the one to answer them.

      However, to get advice from Daniel, he would be required to sit still and listen. That wasn’t happening. Not now, not today.

      Grabbing his phone and the jacket he’d shucked off when he entered the house, he headed out again—back to Valentine Bay and Valentine Bay Books down in the historic district, where the fortyish blonde clerk greeted him with a big smile. “How can I help you?”

      “I’m having a baby. It’s my first and I need to know everything.”

      “Well, of course you do.” She led the way to the baby and childcare section and recommended a few books on first-time fatherhood.

      He grabbed those. “I’m just going to look around for a while.”

      She left him to it. An hour later, he’d chosen more than twenty new-dad and baby books. After all, he had a lot to learn. And that could take a lot of books.

      Back at home, he stuck a frozen pizza in the oven and sat down to begin his education in fatherhood.

      At two on Saturday morning, he was still reading. Not long after that, he must have dropped off to sleep. He woke